In the Footsteps of Our Lord
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
February 8 – 18, 2022 / $4790.00
Join Father Andy Booms and Father Jose Maria Cabrera of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan on the trip of a lifetime. This trip features the most incredible and most sacred places of the Holy Land. The itinerary features five nights in Jerusalem and three nights in Tiberias, with multiple excursions to many different sites along the way.
Our chaplains will lead us in daily Mass and prayer, and our Catholic tour guide Amer Shehadeh – a local from Nazareth – will share with us his love and knowledge of the holy places. From Bethlehem to Bethany, Nazareth to Jerusalem, our faith will come to life as we walk in Christ’s very footsteps.
This trip has been designed to be as comfortable as possible. We’ve arranged round-trip airfare from Detroit on Delta/Air France, beautiful four and five star hotels, and private transportation and tour services from start to finish.
Special Features and Amenities
This trip has been designed to be as comfortable as possible so that you can make the most out of your pilgrimage, no matter your age or walking ability. From four-star hotels villas to our very own air-conditioned motor coach, you'll enjoy your trip thoroughly.
A Truly Fantastic Itinerary
Our itinerary is comprehensive and comfortable. We’ve selected two cities – Jerusalem and Tiberias – from where we will set out to explore the Holy Land.
Five Star Hotels & Amenities
Our hotel choices were made with you in mind; four and five stars, spacious rooms, large bathrooms, elevators, beautiful public spaces, fantastic restaurants, and so much more.
Catholic Tour Guides
This trip is staffed by Catholics who will earnestly share their love and knowledge of the faith for you. Our guide and your soon-to-be friend Amer Shehadeh is from Nazareth!
Private Transportation
We’ll have our very own private motor coach to take us all over the Holy Land. We will have to walk, however, as most cities don’t have streets bug enough for buses!
Pilgrimage Itinerary
February 8-9
Getting There
Tuesday, February 8 –Today we rendezvous in Saginaw at 11:00 AM (place and parking information TBD) and board a private bus for Detroit International Airport. We will then check-in and board our flight, Lufthansa 443, with scheduled departure for Frankfurt, Germany at 4:15 PM. The next morning we arrive in Frankfurt at 6:15 AM and then proceed to our next flight, Lufthansa 686, with scheduled departure for Tel Aviv at 10:10 AM.
Wednesday, February 9 – Our flight arrives in Tel Aviv at Ben Gurion Airport at 2:35 PM. Here we will be met by our private guide Amer Shehadeh. Our first stop is Caesarea Maritime, an ancient city and harbor built during the reign of Herod the Great in c. 22-9 BC. Following our visit we will transfer to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee and check in at Pilgerhaus. At Pilgerhaus we are within walking distance of Tabgha, the site where Jesus fed the multitude by the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. We’ll enjoy a welcome dinner dinner together at the hotel and then catch up on some muchneeded sleep.
February 10-12
Tiberias & Environs
Thursday, February 10 – Our first stop is Nazareth, the very place on earth where the Word was made Flesh, a mystery honored by the Basilica of the Annunciation, built on the site that tradition holds was the house of Mary. The Church of St. Joseph is built over the workshop of St. Joseph the Carpenter; imagine the boy Jesus helping his father in this very place. We will enjoy lunch in Nazareth before traveling to Cana, the village where Jesus performed his first public miracle at a wedding, when he turned water into wine. The miracle is commemorated by the Wedding Church. Here, couples will have the opportunity to renew their wedding vows. Following our time in Cana we will return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
Friday, February 11 – Today our first stop is Capernaum, where Jesus taught in the synagogue and healed a man possessed by an unclean spirit. Here we will have Mass and a tour. We will then drive north to the Golan eight to visit Banias (Caesarea Philippi), stopping at the stunning nature reserve, the Nahal Hermon Banias-National park. Lunch here will be at a Druze Village, home to an ancient and insular Druze Arab ethnic group residing in Israel. After lunch, we will visit the edge of the Sea of Galilee where once stood Bethsaida, the town which gave rise to Peter, Andrew, and Phillip. We will stop at Tabgha to visit the Church of Multiplication before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Saturday, February 12 – Today begins at the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. This is followed by a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, after which we will enjoy lunch. We will then visit the Church of the Primacy of Peter where Jesus appeared to his apostles after his Resurrection, and told them where to cast their nets. Following lunch we will continue to Jerusalem; check in at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Guest House.
February 13 - 14
Jerusalem
Sunday, February 13 – Today begins with early Mass at the most sacred Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which encloses the hill of Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus within its walls. We return to the hotel for breakfast before departing for Bethlehem. Here we will visit the Church of the Nativity built at the spot of our Lord’s birth. We will also see the Church of St. Catherine (of Alexandria). From the church we will descend to the grotto where St. Jerome translated the books of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate. Lunch in Bethlehem and visit to the Shepherd’s Field, where, at our Lord’s birth, the shepherds received “good tidings of great joy.” We will then return to the hotel for dinner.
Monday, February 14 – Today’s first stop is the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall), the only part of the Temple complex to survive the Roman sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD. After lunch, we go to three sites in the Mt. Zion area. The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu is built on the grounds where Peter denied our Lord three times before the cock crowed. The Basilica of Dormition Abbey commemorates our Lady falling asleep before she was assumed into heaven. The day ends with a visit to the Upper Room, where the Last Supper took place. We will then return to the hotel for dinner.
February 15 - 17
Last Three Days
Tuesday, February 15 – Today we will visit the Israel Museum in the morning before going to Ein Karem where Zachary and Elizabeth lived, and where our Lady pronounced her Magnificat, commemorated at the Church of the Visitation. Lunch on your own, and then visit the Pater Noster Church, built over a cave where Christ taught the Our Father to His disciples. From there we will walk the road that Jesus traveled amid jubilant shouts of the Palm Sunday throng, to the Dominus Flevit Chapel, at the spot where our Lord wept over Jerusalem. We’ll then return to the hotel for dinner.
Wednesday, February 16 – This morning we will walk the way of Christ’s passion, the ancient Via Dolorosa. The Stations of the Cross are marked along this route. Visit the Pools of Bethseda where Jesus healed the paralytic. Lunch on your own. After lunch, we go the beautiful and peaceful Garden of Gethsemene, where Jesus suffered his Agony before his arrest. The day ends with a farewell dinner.
Thursday, February 17 – Today is the last day of the trip and has been allocated as a free day. We are offering an optional day-trip, however, that you may not want to miss. The additional cost is $180.00. – Optional Day Trip Details – After morning Mass those attending the optional day trip will depart for the fortress of Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea. This fascinating archaeological site was originally built by Herod the Great in c. 30 BC, but is famous as the location of the last stand of the Zealots during the Jewish Revolt against the Romans that ended with the siege of Masada and Jewish defeat in 73 AD. Following our tour and lunch we will visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran! This exciting historical venture will be followed by an optional swim in the Dead Sea! In the late afternoon we will return to our hotel and check-out. We’re then off to Tel Aviv airport where we will check-in and enjoy a final dinner together.
February 18
Coming Home
Friday, February 18 – Today our flight Lufthansa 691 departs Tel Aviv at 5:20 AM and arrives in Frankfurt at 9:00 AM. Our next flight, Lufthansa 442 is scheduled to depart at 10:55 AM for Detroit. We then arrive in Detroit at 2:25 PM, where our private bus will meet us and bring us directly home to Saginaw.
TRIP DETAILS
Pricing & Registration
Planning Timeline
Register
In order to register simply fill out the form on this page! Your place on the trip is then secure!
Purchase Travel Insurance
Request a quote from ProRome directly. To cover preexisting conditions insurance must be purchased within two weeks of registration.
Get Your Passports Ready
Apply as soon as possible. NB - Passports that expire within six months of the travel dates are not valid to enter Israel.
Get Welcome Packet & Pack Your Bags
Two months before the trip we will send you Welcome Packets with lots of useful information. Pack your bags and get ready!
Meet the Team
Amer Shehadeh
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30+ Years Leading Groups
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Knight of the Holy Sepulcher
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Fluent Speaker of English, Arabic and Hebrew
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Native of Nazareth, Israel
Fr. Andy Booms
Fr. Jose
Frequently Asked Questions
Trip Patron
Our trip patron is St. James the Greater. Following the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, St. James set out for Spain where he preached the good new. Following his missionary work in Spain, St. James returned to his home country and was eventually beheaded in Jerusalem, in 44 AD. His relics were returned to Spain but his head remained in Jerusalem, in the church of St. James. We’ll pay our patron a visit while in Jerusalem!
“Five gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and the one you will find in the land they call Holy. Read the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you.“ – St. Jerome
Travel Insurance
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